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Hermione Granger got it right when, facing the potion-master's test, she said: "This isn't magic - it's logic - a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic; they'd be stuck here forever." - Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone
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WHY LOGIC?
Logic is fundamental in almost all aspects of your life.
- What you do. Computer science, mathematics, the natural sciences, the social sciences, the humanities, the arts, medicine, law all require you to read, write, and think critically.
- What you believe. Advertisers, politicians, companies, and organizations, your friends, family, and experts in a field - all at some time want you to buy their products, vote for them, or support what they believe and want to do. Logic helps you spot the hype, the nonsense, who is wrong and who is right.
- How you think and communicate. You use the language of logic to state observations, define concepts, and form theories. You use reason to reach conclusions and solve problems all the time. You use logic to explain your thoughts to others.
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"Whether I am on a soccer field or at a robotics competition, I face a lot of situations where logic is necessary to make decisions."
"I have always loved puzzles and math and like to solve challenging problems."
"Math classes aren't the only classes that require logic; In AP United States History I am often called upon to recognize patterns and cycles spanning over four centuries, while in English classes I need to write persuasive essays by reasoning through source material and supporting my theses."
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WHY THIS CAMP?
- Approved Content. The materials used in the course are the same as those used by students participating in the annual International Logic Olympiad.
- Instructors. An award-winning high school teacher and a Stanford Computer Science professor who literally wrote the book on Logic. Plus Stanford students acting as teaching assistants.
- Engaging Classes & Fun Activities. Schedule rich in engaging lectures, team and individual exercises, projects, puzzles, and games, along with special events and guests.
- Limited Enrollment. Registration target of just 24 students, enabling individual attention to all participants.
- Immersive Schedule: Weekdays 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM PDT from June 16 through June 27.
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"The most important ideas and skills I learned during the summer camp were how to talk intelligently and how to act in an environment of other intelligent people while talking about advanced topics."
"I feel that this course in logic is appealing to me not only because it is fundamental to the field that I wish to pursue once I'm in college (i.e. computer science) , but also because it appears to be oriented towards practical logic and reasoning."
"The walks with the instructors were extremely valuable for everyone! Walking with them gave us time to really talk in a more casual setting -- we got to know them and see them as people, instead of just instructors."
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CONTENT
Learning logic is like learning a foreign language, only easier, more useful, and more fun. You'll discover that on Day 1 when you realize that you've been trying to think clearly about lots of things over the years and didn't have the training to do it well. The classes in the Logic For All summer camp provide that training. In the end, you'll learn a way of thinking so powerful that you'll be able to solve all kinds of problems - including these - with ease.
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SAFECRACKING PUZZLE: There is a combination safe with four switches on the front, each with three positions (low, medium, and high). If the switches are set into an opening combination, then when you try to open the safe, it will open; otherwise, no dice. In general, there are 3^4 = 81 possible combinations. However, this is a cheap safe; and only two of the switches actually matter; if you set those two switches right, the safe will open. Unfortunately, you do not know which are the important switches or which positions work. What is the minimum number of combinations you must try that will *guarantee* to open the safe? What is your plan?
ZOOM PUZZLE: A teacher is dismayed that so many students are skipping her Zoom lectures. Her next lecture is an important one, and she wants everyone to attend. To encourage this, she considers failing any student who skips the next session. Unfortunately, by university rules, she can fail only one student. The students all know this and plan to stay away on the argument that the probability of any one of them failing as a result is low. Though the students are willing to accept a low probability of failing, none is willing to skip class if it means failing for sure. What policy can the teacher announce that would persuade all of her students to attend the next session?
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TEACHERS
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Michael Towne started out his career in Marine Corps, but switched to teaching, and was responsible for a ten fold increase in enrollment by building a new program in Engineering at his current school. He was entrusted by the College Board to testify on its behalf in front of US Congress. |
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Michael Genesereth is a professor in the Computer Science Department at Stanford University. He is best known for his work on computational logic and its applications in enterprise computing, computational law, and general game playing. He has taught logic for 30 years at Stanford and offers an annual massive open online course, or MOOC, on logic. Professor Genesereth directs the Logic Group at Stanford and is the founder and research director of CodeX (The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics). He is also an avid sailor and a private pilot. |
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for the course, students must be:
- enrolled in grade 9, 10, 11, or 12 in the Fall 2025
- comfortable with symbolic manipulation as taught in introductory Algebra
- familiar with basic set theory, including set notation, union, intersection, complement
Each student must have a computer or tablet with access to the Internet, a recent version of Safari or Chrome or Firefox, and a recent version of Zoom (available for free at http://zoom.us).
FEES
Tuition for the two week camp (10 weekdays total) is $1,500. Limited financial aid is available and is awarded (based on family need) to eligible students who would not otherwise be able to attend the camp. Tuition includes all instructional materials.
DEADLINES
Application for Logic For All must be completed by June 30, 2025. Admission to this camp is on a rolling basis with a target of 24 students. Though we've established June 30, 2025 as the cutoff date for applying, we will review application forms as soon as they are filed; and we will continue to review them until we fill all the available places. We encourage you to apply early so that you won't be waitlisted.
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